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Warren goes full circle in career,earns doctorate from Texasup.Joan Warren wasn't keepingAnd itwas that realizationthat prompted her to begin workon a doctorate in the spring of1995.Now you may call her Dr.Warren. Cowley's associate deanof vocational education successfullydefended her dissertation inFebruary and earned her educationaldoctorate from theUniversity of Texas at Austin.Warren's dissertation titled "ASmall Rural Community Collegeand A Large IndustrialCorporation: A CustomizedCongratulationsDoc Warren!Dr. Joan Warren, right, takes a moment with Jong-time friend DebbieKendrick during a reception for Warren held at the college.Training Partnership," was developed through UT's Community College Leadership Program. Dr. WilliamMoore served as chairman of Warren's dissertation."I've been in vocational education all my life," said Warren, a native of Midland, Texas. "I was in itin high school. I worked half a day in the pharmacy at the Walgreen Super Center, and went to school halfa day. I majored in distributive education in college, taught vocational education a couple of years, andnow I'm back at it, which is my first love. It's like this is where I belong."Warren began working at Cowley in 1985 as secretary to Susan Rush, who was coordinator of theWork Opportunity Rural Kansas grant. She finished a master's degree in business education from EmporiaState University in1989, and has been responsible for numerous areas of the college since.She went back for another degree at the urging of then-Dean of Instruction, Dr. Bob Paxton."I could see about five years after I finished my master's that I was no longer on the cutting edge,"Warren said. "Things were moving so quickly, you've got to continually train. I didn't think my knowledgewas up to date any more."Warren investigated Cowley's partnership with Boeing Wichita for her dissertation."We knew we could do business with Boeing, but what training can an organization as small asCowley possibly do for a corporation as large as Boeing?" she questioned. "Well, we can offer specializedtraining, not the huge package. I looked at the Manufacturing Business Skills Certificate program weformed with Boeing. We knew it was successful, but what does success mean? That is what I sought tofind out."She discovered that both Cowley and Boeing benefited from the partnership. She also made somerecommendations for change in the program."My study was more qualitative than quantitative," she said. "I was dealing with people as people,not numbers."She spent theMcAtee in the fall of 1996.1995-96 academic year in Austin, then interned under Cowley President Dr. PatWarren, the former Joan Wahlenmaier, wanted to be close to home to raise her two children. SonChris is now 18, while daughter Dru is 14."My roots go back in Ark City," she said. "I've visited here during Christmas and Thanksgiving allmy life."Warren wants to utilize her expertise in the Industrial Technology Division for a while."I've got to continually work on long-range planning," she said.Warren was hooded during commencement ceremonies in Austin on May 23.Gk